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Investor, Entrepreneur to Present Law Lecture

By La Monica Everett-Haynes,
University Communications |
March 23, 2009

Larry Wilson graduated from the UA law school and went on to become founder of Citadel Associates, a radio broadcasting company that he helped grow to include more than 200 stations in the U.S.

Larry Wilson

University of Arizona alumni Larry Wilson – a rancher, investor and entrepreneur – will be on campus for a talk about the nation's contemporary business landscape.

Wilson's visit is part of the UA James E. Rogers College of Law's second annual Business/Law Exchange Lecture.

The talk, "Timing, Luck and Skill in a World Gone Mad," is free and open to the public and will be held March 30 at 4:30 p.m. The lecture will be held in Room 160 of the UA College of Law, located at 1201 E. Speedway Blvd. Doors open for seating at 4 p.m.

Wilson, who earned his law degree from the UA in 1972, went on to become vice president and general counsel of Combined Communications Corporation, a national media company.

In 1984, he founded Citadel Associates, a radio broadcasting company that, under his leadership, grew to more than 200 stations across the country. When Citadel Communications was purchased by Forstmann Little and Co. in 2001, Wilson was the third-largest station operator in the U.S., and the sale was valued at approximately $2 billon.

Aside from Citadel's financial success and stability in a volatile industry, Wilson has been nationally lauded for the culture of community service shared by Citadel stations and for his professional leadership in professional and community endeavors.

In 2001, Wilson earned the National Radio Award from the National Association of Broadcasters. The following year, he received the Executive of the Year Award by Radio Ink. In 2006, he received the Humanitarian Award from the Country Radio Broadcasters Association.

As far as UA accolades go, Wilson was recognized with the UA Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award in 1986 and the College of Law's Professional Achievement Award in 2002.

He has remained active at the UA College of Law. Most recently, he honored his former professor Arthur Andrews by establishing an endowed professorship with two of his law school classmates.

Wilson's lecture is sponsored by the UA's Business/Law Exchange, which is a collaboration between the law school, the UA Office of Technology Transfer and the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, which is part of the Eller College of Management.

During the lecture, UA students from the College of Law and the McGuire Center will have priority seating, along with those with confirmed reservations. Others are welcome on a first-come, first-served basis and a videostream of the lecture will be shown in Room 168 if the first room reaches full capacity.